Chest Pain
Alternative Names:
Angina
Definition:
Chest pain may result in patients who may or may not have heart-related conditions including heartburn, panic attack, heart attack, and angina.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of chest pain that may be cardiac related:
- Pressure, fullness, tightness in the chest
- Crushing or searing pain that radiates to neck, back, jaw, shoulders, and arms
- Pain that varies in intensity and comes and goes intermittently
- Shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, or nausea
Symptoms of chest pain that may not be cardiac related:
- A burning sensation behind your breastbone
- A sour taste or sensation of food re-entering your mouth
- Trouble swallowing
- Pain that intensifies when you breathe deeply or cough
- Tenderness when you push on your chest
Exams/Testing:
After experiencing chest pain, patients will most likely have their blood pressure, pulse, and temperature checked before their doctor continues to diagnose a treatment method. Checking for the most immediate health threats – heart attack, pulmonary embolism, or a collapsed lung – will help your doctor decide which of the following tests to run next:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Blood tests
- Chest X-ray
- Stress tests
- Echocardiogram
- Coronary catheterization (angiogram)
- Computerized tomography (CT scan)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Endoscopy
Outlook/Prognosis:
For patients with chest pain, the prognosis can range from a minor condition to news of a heart attack. Your doctor may begin drug therapy to treat your chest pain or your condition may require surgery.
Patients with cardiac-related chest pain may be prescribed any of the following treatments:
- Aspirin – inhibits blood clotting to help maintain blood flow through narrowed arteries.
- Nitroglycerin – temporarily widens blood vessels to help treat angina
- Beta blockers – help relax heart muscle, slow heart rate, and decrease blood pressure
- Thrombolytics – dissolve blood clots blocking flow to the heart
- Ranolazine (Ranexa) – a new drug used to treat chronic angina
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) – allow blood to flow from the heart more easily
- Calcium channel blockers – used to treat coronary artery spasm
The following surgical procedures may be necessary for some conditions related to chest pain:
- Angioplasty and stenting – a catheter with a special balloon is inserted into a blocked artery and then inflated to open up the artery and to restore the heart’s blood flow.
- Coronary bypass surgery – creates an alternative route for blood to go around a blocked artery
Causes (specific drugs):
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